Mar12021 by KevinNo Comments
Botanical new thinking for tortoises

Botanical new thinking for tortoises

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There has been a lot of supplements and foods brought to the market over the years. Pellet food arrived some years ago, and eventually was developed into many varieties and flavours – and in many circles regarded with suspicion nowadays. In more modern times a flurry of natural based products have now been offered to tortoise keepers, for supplementation and foods. One of the first products to take our attention was when Komodo launched their range of leaf and petal mixes designed just for tortoises. ProRep soon followed with their own range, and it was even expanded to cover Bearded Dragons. Both ranges span many differing dried leaves and petals that can include plantain, echinacea, mulberry, dandelion leaf, red clover flowers, hibiscus petals and marigold flowers. All of these products…
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Jan312021 by KevinNo Comments

Gadgets and Goodies for Natural Terraria

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So, you are planning a natural terrarium? Here is our run down of the must have electrical gadgets and goodies available that can be used in a naturally planted eco-terrarium. Lights with spectrum suited for plant growth – a critical area for every terrarium that is often overlooked or skimped on. Every reptile keeper understands the relationship with light for their pets, but when it comes to natural terraria some keepers hope they will get away with an unsuitable product! Don’t! Plants need the correct spectrum of light to thrive. Plants lights also have the added benefit of being bright and bringing out the best colours – best of both worlds, plants thrive, and the display looks its best. There are many brands, all based on LED lights – one…
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Jan312021 by KevinNo Comments

Pssst! Want to know how to build an eco-terrarium?

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There are many ways to build a natural terrarium, it can be jungle – or it could be desert. It could have a soil drainage system in levels – or it could have a false floor and be a paludarium style for fish as well as reptiles and amphibians. There are manufacturers that provide even more variety in methods, BioPod for example provided a full and complete system – Zoo Med provide a range of products to make paludarium building much easier. Further confusion – do you want an automated rain system? Or are you planning on spraying manually? What about light choices? It’s an almost mind boggling array of options and paths for the hobbyist to take. Here is just one option, starting at the basics – actually constructing…
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Jan12021 by KevinNo Comments
Brrr! Winter and the challenges of livefood!

Brrr! Winter and the challenges of livefood!

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During the winter months it can be difficult for the keeper of lizards, frogs, spiders and other livefood eaters. Just keeping the locusts, crickest, waxworms, mealworms etc alive and nutritional can be quite a challenge. It has to be said the cold weather isn’t livefood friendly. The best option is to collect your livefood from your local store. You can inspect it before purchase to ensure the livefood is good quality – but that’s not the main reason. Ultimately at this time of the year a period of a couple of days in the postal service will not be very helpful at all in keeping your livefood in good condition – or even alive. Most mail order livefood suppliers, like ourselves, will pack with extra layers to insulate the insects…
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Jan12021 by KevinNo Comments

Probably the least comprehensive guide to supplements ever.

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If you are reading this expecting an in-depth review of all the supplements that are on the market nowadays aimed at reptile nutrition – you are in for a shock! No, this will give you some home truths about the basics. Armed with this basic knowledge you can then decide for yourself which you feel best suits your reptiles needs. Not that long ago there were no supplements that were balanced for reptiles. Commercially we had SA-37 and Vionate for the general pet market. From there we had keepers experimenting with human supplements for their reptiles – Vitamin D and calcium (ground) tablets were popular, along with liquid additives such as Abidec (for human babies). It really was not acceptable at all, and we all sighed a huge sigh of…
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Dec12020 by KevinNo Comments

MistKing systems

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I've used MistKing systems for several years now, long before they had a UK importer and distributor. As a fan of eco-natural planted terraria and frog keeping I first started with the more "off the shelf" beginner misting systems provided by the more "mainstream manufacturers". However I was quick to realise that these were not up to my needs, and really only suitable for home use with a low use environment. I noticed the various misting systems that plant nurseries were using over in Holland, and then saw similar systems for sale at European shows such as at Houten and Hamm.  I took the plunge and never looked back. I have also installed systems in colleges and elsewhere that have very heavy use - they are still working well and…
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Nov42020 by KevinNo Comments

Ways to avoid the queue during lockdown

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We are allowed to be open during lockdown, we an essential business due to animal welfare issues. However we do have stringent measures in place to keep everybody safe, many of which will unfortunately cause queues. Here are some tips to avoid queues; • Use our home delivery services further details can be found here; Home Delivery During Lockdown • Phone ahead and pay for your items on the phone using your debit or credit card. Call us on arrival outside the store, we will bring your purchases to you. Be aware there may still be a slight wait depending on how busy the store is and how many staff we currently have furloughed or not. Only use this service for run of the mill purchases such as livefood and…
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Nov42020 by KevinNo Comments

Delivery services during lockdown

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We are happy to provide home delivery during the November lockdown for those that cannot get to the store, or it's more convenient. However we are still open throughout as an essential business. We can do our home van delivery service. It is for customers within a 15 mile radius of Darlington - this includes much of Teesside, County Durham and Teesdale. Delivery day is Thursday of each week, in the afternoon / early evening - we will contact you with an hour slot for your delivery. We can carry small or larger orders, up to a four feet long flatpack vivarium. We can deliver everything that is available in store, including animals. Delivery cost is £3.50 within five miles, £5 after five miles, no matter how many items (as…
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Nov12020 by KevinNo Comments

Jacksons Chameleons

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A very desirable Chameleon species, a male Jacksons Chameleon is instantly recognisable with their three long horns. There are other species with three horns, but Jacksons are the one that are the species most people think of. They naturally occur in various regions throughout East Africa, but have been accidentally (or otherwise) introduced in at least three US States. There are three sub-species Trioceros jacksonii xantholophus, Trioceros jacksonii jacksonii and Trioceros jacksonii merumontanus. The larger xantholophus (Yellow Crest) is the sub-species most likely encountered for sale. They are live bearers.   A full account of captive care is far beyond a brief introduction such as this, however a quick run down of their basic needs and husbandry is in order – please research thoroughly before committing to this species. There…
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Sep302020 by KevinNo Comments

Reptile Systems New Dawn LED lights

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We have been interested in natural panted eco terraria for many years. I can remember is a child attempting to grow plants alongside my reptiles and amphibians in their vivaria. This was some  four decades ago, and needless to say things were not as developed as they are nowadays – it’s easy to be successful nowadays. There is such a great deal of great products, help and advice that should ensure a good success rate for most people. In constructed a multi-vivarium natural terraia department at Coast to Coast Exotics some years ago, and we have actively followed the development of the products that make a big difference to the hobby. One such development is the LED lighting from Reptile Systems.   The first product we tried, some time ago,…
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